What happens now?

How ironic that our first – and as it turns out last –  2020 museum seminar ended with a visit to exhibit “Outbreak, Epidemics in a Connected World?” We all were aware of the growing concern about Covid-19, and the general feeling was that we were headed toward a global pandemic. Yet, we all hoped that we would be able to continue with our spring seminar series.

Sadly, that was not to be. Late on Wednesday, March 11, Montgomery College announced that there would be no classes on Thursday and Friday. This was to allow Faculty to begin preparing to continue the semester in a remote only format, to begin after  Spring Break, scheduled for the following week. Still, after consulting with the MC administration and our colleagues at the SI, it appeared we would be traveling  back to NMNH  the next day to visit “Deep Time”,  a session we had all been eagerly awaiting since announcing our 2020 theme. Those plans were cancelled the next morning as concern about the virus continued to spread. By Friday, March 13 it seemed that everything had shut or was about to close, including the Smithsonian which would close all museums and activities within just a few days.

So, what comes next? Stay tuned!